


What A Fine Life

by yetimintrepid



Category: Newsies - All Media Types
Genre: IT'S GAY, Name Puns, Other, This Is STUPID, awkward gays, did I mention that it's gay, everyone is gay in some way, sprace and fresh air
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-02-12
Updated: 2018-02-21
Packaged: 2019-03-17 12:17:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,158
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13658811
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yetimintrepid/pseuds/yetimintrepid
Summary: This is fic starring an OC and Albert DaSilva, as well as other ships along the way. Definitely not canon.





	1. A Leg of Lamb

His name was Lambrett Byrne.  
That was what Jack was able to pick up from this new kid from Ireland. At least he thought he was from Ireland. He seemed a little jumpy and he didn't look too special, so he didn't have much to worry about. When the kid was unable to pay his own rent, Jack sent him out to go sell. And dang, the boy was a natural. Lambrett seemed to sell papers as if they were free. Soon enough, Lambrett was laughing and singing and he seemed so free. Then again, that was what happened with every kid who came to the lodging house. It didn't make it any less spectacular to watch.

Lambrett had made friends quite easily. Crutchie was quickly a close friend, Jack seemed like a brother, Mush always teased him. Elmer was nice enough, and Racetrack took him to the races occasionally. Then there was Albert. Lambrett liked Albert. He seemed nice, although he didn't interact with him much. Whenever they went to Jacobi's, Lambrett always tried to talk to him, but Albert always seemed too busy talking with the other guys that he didn't want to intervene. So he just talked to Crutchie or Romeo. Sometimes he brought his sister Nora along and she'd tell the boys stories of her adventures in stitching and answer all of their silly questions. Lambrett enjoyed those moments because he was able to glance at his friends and watch them laugh as Nora told an obviously made-up story, watch them ask the most ridiculous questions possible. His sister would always end her stories by showing off the little neckerchief she had made for her older brother, the first item she made when she first learned how to stitch. He would always proudly show the three colors of the Irish flag.

"Hey, Lamb! Where're ya sellin' today?" Lamb had finally been able to speak with Albert personally. It was a nice feeling, something that washed away the worry that the other boy would be rude or taunt him. Something still felt a little odd, however.  
"I'se sellin' by the harbor today! Wanna come with?"  
"Yeah, I wanna come with!" Lamb slowed to a stop to let Albert catch up.  
"The Delanceys seemed a lil' more rude than usual, didn't they?" Lamb asked, adjusting his sling bag full of fifty cents of papers.

“I’se never seen ‘em get so riled up. In fact I — WHOA!” Albert tripped on a chuck of rock that he didn’t even see. Lamb quickly came to his rescue, although there was one problem. Albert had grabbed him and dragged him down with him. Which ended up with both of them falling down a small flight of stairs. Lamb groaned and clutched at his knee.  
“Lamb, ya leg-“  
“I’se fine, Albert,” Lamb responded with a breathy laugh, getting up. His knee was bleeding and he seemed to really be favoring his uninjured left leg.  
“Let’s go and sell.”

It turned out it wasn’t fine. Lamb had sprained his ankle falling down the steps and now he couldn’t sell for a while. Jack kept him in bed and had Elmer change the band-aids on his knees every so often. Albert visited almost hourly, and Lamb couldn’t figure out why. They were close friends, that was why. He was alright with that. 

Besides, a leg of lamb never hurt anyone, right?


	2. Valentine's Day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A Valentine's Day special! Albert has no date so he asks Lamb to be his Valentine. Platonically, of course...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (lol no it's gay)

It was February 14th. The day didn't seem as cold as usual, birds were nesting, flower shops were open, more people were on the streets. And more people meant more profit. Jack had declared that everyone was to take a break sometime that day and spend time with someone that they loved. At that, Race had disappeared mysteriously once all of his papers were sold, but someone had caught him going over to Brooklyn and everyone knew what was going on.  
Humming to himself, Lamb was able to sell a couple more papers before lunchtime. He leaned against a wall and whistled to himself. He looked up as he heard Albert call his name.  
"Hey, Lamb!"  
He smiled brightly at the sight of his friend, pushing off of the wall and heading towards him.  
"Hiya, Al! What's up?"  
I uh... I have a question for ya."  
Lamb noticed that Albert seemed to look down at his fingers rather than make direct eye contact and honestly? He was getting nervous. Albert always looked him in the eyes.  
"Yeah, you can tell me anything. What's up?"  
"Well... I don't got a date for today. You don't got a date for today. So... why don't we just, I don't know, pretend we'se a couple for today? D'ya thank that'd be fun?"  
Lamb was speechless for a few moments, and Albert was suddenly very, very nervous. That was certainly not how it was supposed to go in his head.  
"Lamb? You'se alright?"

He really hoped he didn't just make the worst mistake of his life.  
"I'd love ta, Al!"  
Albert suddenly found himself being tackled in a hug. Both boys were laughing and laying on the ground in a heap.  
"Jacobi's? I'll pay!"  
"I offered ta take ya out, I'll pay!"  
"It's fine, I got a couple bucks!"  
Albert rolled his eyes as Lamb continued to insist on paying. Eventually they settled it. Albert would pay for the meal (as Lamb begrudgingly allowed) while Lamb would pay for dessert and drinks.

A few hours later, they were at Jacobi's. The other Newsies didn't seem to be around, which was a relief for the duo. They sat down, ordered from old man Jacobi and started a conversation. Albert ordered a glass of seltzer which he got pretty excited over. Lamb got himself a glass of seltzer as well, and everything was going well.

"Well, would ya look at that!"  
Mush Myers and Kid Blink walked into Jacobi's, arms linked. Clearly they seemed pretty close. Maybe a bit too close.  
"Albert's got a date!"  
Albert rolled his eyes and looked away as Blink and Mush sat down at the table next to them, a huge grin on Mush's face.  
"So, Muttonchops, how much did he pay ya?"  
Lamb knew Blink was only joking, but something inside him felt upset that Blink would have thought something like that. He wasn't quite sure why.

“He didn’t have to pay me nothin’,” Lamb responded, reaching over and grabbing Albert’s hand which had been resting on the table.   
“I wanted to go with ‘im.”  
Albert’s face was bright red, and Mush made and ‘ooo’ sound, cradling he chin with the palms of both hands.  
“I always knew somethin’ was up with you two!”

Mush and Blink finally left, and Albert and Lamb had some time alone. They decided to split a piece of carrot cake. The prices were lower for the occasion, which Lamb was pretty happy about.   
“Hey, Al?”  
“Yeah, Lamb?”  
“Thank you. I’ve had a great time.”  
Albert looked up from trying to pick a shred of carrot from in between his teeth to look at Lamb instead. His hair seemed a lot more orange than the last time he looked. Maybe it was just the lighting in the deli. Or maybe it was because of how red the Irish boy’s freckled face was. Albert chuckled a little bit louder than he intended to and looked away.   
“It’s no big deal. Just some corned beef an’ potatoes an’ carrot cake.”  
“I know! But still... I really enjoy spendin’ time with you...”  
Was Lamb leaning in a little bit? Albert didn’t know, but he decided to do so as well. Their foreheads were getting pretty close and Albert was getting a little nervous and Lamb was as well until —  
“We’re closing for the night! Thank you all for coming!”   
Lamb and Albert pulled away as other couples started to pay their bills and start to leave. Albert sighed, getting up and putting money down, Lamb doing the same so that they both covered the bill. Lamb left a couple pennies for a tip, and together, linking arms, they headed off to the boarding house. 

Albert finished brushing his teeth and started to head to bed.   
“Hey, Al.”  
Lamb approached him, and Albert smiled.   
“Thanks again. Happy Valentine’s Day.”  
Albert’s face went red as Lamb kissed his cheek before quickly scampering back to his bed. Albert was frozen for a moment, before he grinned and climbed up to his bunk.   
What a fine life.


	3. Carrying The Banner

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lambrett and Albert's first actual partnership to sell papes. Takes place before the Valentine's Day Special.

After Lamb's fall, his ankle had healed properly and he was able to go out and sell again. He didn't fake a limp for sympathy, he didn't need to. He could juggle and he could entertain. Plus he thought it would be rude to Crutchie. Jack had decided to have Lamb join a smaller group that consisted of Albert, Elmer, and Henry so that the four of them could sell together and perhaps more than usual. After a little bit of bickering, it was decided that Elmer and Henry would pair up, leaving Albert and Lamb as a pair as well. So off they went, keeping out an eye for any stairs that would get into their way. Lamb was humming an old tune he had learned from his father, and ended up whistling it. Albert had just been listening without really paying attention. 

"What'cha thinkin', Al?" Albert was suddenly snapped out of his thoughts when Lamb asked him the question.  
"Ah, nothin' much. What're ya hummin'?"  
"Just somethin' my dad taught me when I was younger. He used'ta sing it whenever I had nightmares. My sister hears it more than I do but that's okay."  
"...Do ya miss home, Lamb?"  
There was a bit of quiet as Lamb adjusted the cloth around his neck.  
"Ireland? I've never actually been. But I do miss not being able to stay with my parents."  
Albert just nodded, throwing a pebble at a wall.  
"I miss my parents too."  
They were quiet until they reached their designated selling spot and started to sell. Lamb got to work juggling and playing the little harmonica he always brought with him.

"It's awfully quiet out here today. Can ya think of any interesting headlines to sell more papes?" It seemed to be a slow day thus far, as they had only sold twenty papers out of the one hundred and fifty that they had bought together.  
"Yeah, I can," Lamb responded, throwing one of the hollow wooden balls at Albert before grabbing a paper and waving it around.  
"Extra, extra! Train crashes in southern Manhattan, a miracle survival! You heard it from me!" Albert took papers and hailed the same headline, just with different words. Eventually it became a competition between the two to sell as many papers as they could and make up ridiculous headlines. Surprisingly, people bought the papers, and children huddled around Lamb to watch him juggle or play his harmonica. By lunch, they had sold most of their papers, about one hundred and thirty. They decided to go and grab a bite to eat before selling the rest.  
"Maybe we'll sell the rest on the way to Jacobi's," Lamb said, managing to sell another paper to a passing woman. Albert nodded in response. He had taken off his hat and his brown hair was messy. Unsurprisingly, he had hat hair. Lamb did as well, but there was a reason he never took off his hat.

They entered the little deli, already having sold five more papers. Now they just had fifteen more to go. They'd be able to pay their rent for sure, even if they bought a little something to eat. It was just a dollar a night.  
"Y'know, Lamb, you've never told me what ya favorite food is," Albert said as they took a seat.  
"Well, I ain't a big fan of lamb. Surprising, huh?" Albert was actually quite surprised by his answer.  
"What, is it 'cause it's ya name? Scared that it'll be some kinda cannibalism?" Lamb let out a laugh, leaning back in his chair.

"Nah, I jus' don't like the taste. I tried a bit when I lived in Maryland. Nora still makes fun of my expression."  
Nora had decided to start selling papers like Lamb. She was great, especially when she teamed up with Smalls, Jojo and Joey. In fact, the three of them were in the deli already, and Lamb could see his sister's hat peeking from in between heads and seats.

"Hey, how's ya lil' brother? Is he still sick?" Fritz was Lamb's brother, about twelve years old.

"He's alright. Mama said he'll be gettin' better soon. We were able to get him some medicine and the doctor said he'll be fine in a month or so."  
"A month is such a long time to wait! I sure hope he gets better soon..."  
Lamb let out a soft sight and sat back, looking at his sister once more.  
"I hope so too..."


End file.
